The Jackson 5 (also spelled
The Jackson Five or
The Jackson 5ive, and later known as
The Jacksons) were an
American popular music family group from
Gary, Indiana. Founding group members
Jackie,
Tito,
Jermaine,
Marlon and
Michael formed the group after performing in an early incarnation called
The Jackson Brothers, which originally consisted of a trio of the three older brothers. Active from 1964 to 1989, the Jacksons played from a repertoire of
R&B,
soul,
pop and later
disco. During their six and a half-year
Motown tenure, The Jackson 5 were one of the biggest pop-music phenomena of the 1970s
, and the band served as the launching pad for the solo careers of their lead singers Jermaine and Michael, the latter brother later transforming his early Motown solo fame into greater success as an adult artist.
The Jackson 5 were the first act in recording history to have their first four major label singles ("
I Want You Back", "
ABC", "
The Love You Save", and "
I'll Be There") reach the top of the
American charts.
Several later singles, among them "
Mama's Pearl", "
Never Can Say Goodbye" and "
Dancing Machine", were Top 5 pop hits and number-one hits on the
R&B singles chart. Most of the early hits were written and produced by a specialized songwriting team known as "
The Corporation"; later Jackson 5 hits were crafted chiefly by
Hal Davis, while early Jacksons hits were compiled by the team of
Gamble and Huff before The Jacksons began writing and producing themselves in the late 1970s.